Continuing our stories of outstanding growers and winemakers born in far flung places, and now fully immersed in the Lodi Viticultural Area’s rich culture of winegrowing: Konstantino “Gus” Kapiniaris – Owner/Grower, Stama Winery For Konstantino “Gus” Kapiniaris, the opening this past spring of his stunning, Mediterranean inspired Stama Winery and tasting room on Lodi’s west…
They are, of course, no longer “foreigners,” but more correctly, foreign-born winemakers and growers who are now fully immersed in the Lodi winegrowing industry, contributing immensely to the community. Immigrants, of course, have played huge roles in the history of the Lodi Viticultural Area since the mid-nineteenth century. For example, the Lange family, who own…
Markus Bokisch walking over cobbly clay terrain in Lodi’s Cosumnes River AVA; site of one of Bokisch Ranches’ latest vineyard plantings. Is there any winegrower more sold on the Lodi Viticultural Area than Markus Bokisch of Bokisch Ranches? Mr. Bokisch first started to come to Lodi during the early 1990s, while fulfilling his job of…
McCay Cellars owner/winemaker Mike McCay If you ask Mike McCay, the winemaker/owner of McCay Cellars, about what makes Lodi special, he’s going to want to talk about ancient vines and Zinfandel; which, after all, are his specialty. But Zinfandel grows well all over California; and certainly, ancient vine plantings in places like Sonoma, Napa Valley,…
Borra Vineyards winemaker Markus Niggli with wintering Vermentino What sets Lodi apart from other American Viticultural Areas? We asked Markus Niggli, the Swiss-born winemaker of Borra Vineyards. Borra is currently Lodi’s oldest continuously operating family winery (bonded in 1975). Yet today, Borra is known as Lodi’s most innovative winery – a reputation garnered almost since…
St. Amant’s Stuart Spencer with 2014 Marian’s Vineyard Zinfandel harvest In part 2 of our series addressing the question of what makes the Lodi Viticultural Area special, we turn to Stuart Spencer, winemaker/owner of St. Amant Winery. Is there any winery more respected by other Lodi winemakers and growers than St. Amant? Founded in 1979…
Craig Rous among his 106-year-old Rous Vineyard Zinfandel vines Over the next two weeks we will feature words from a few winemakers and growers, speaking out on one subject: what makes Lodi special. That is to say, the things that make the Lodi Viticultural Area different from other American AVAs that go beyond terroir –…
Bechthold Vineyard Cinsaut (ancient vines planted in 1886) during July 2015 veraison; source of some of the finest roses in California Summer, as many Lodi wine lovers well know, is the time for backyards brimming with tinkles and laughter, hovering hummingbirds, and the pungently earthy scent of golden paellas or the wispy gray smoke of…
The non-existent connection between quality and price How much of what we perceive or think about wine is a mind trick – much less real than we may suspect? Naturally, here in Lodi – where average bottle prices tend to be slightly lower than that of other wine regions because of a number of circumstances,…
Taking Lodi’s temperature over the past century There are things about the Lodi Viticultural Area that are not exactly common knowledge among wine lovers. One of the most common misperceptions is that Lodi is a “hot climate” wine region. When you look at a map, and see that the Lodi AVA occupies the northern section…
Lodi’s Jon Bjork grilling up some Korean style short ribs Who doesn’t associate summer with barbecue? It’s an American thing, but you might also consider it a return to primal instincts. “Ugh, me Tarzan, you Jane, we smoke ribs and drink Zinfandel tonight.” Over the years we have gathered perfectly intellectual thoughts on the art…
What happens when a young, curious, forward-thinking, Lodi raised chef, after rigorous training under one of Hawai`i’s most renowned chefs, is given the opportunity to create a menu to match the wines of the Lod Viticultural Area’s Acquiesce Winery? Summery hot, fun, culinary fireworks, of course!“ “Acquiesce,” as owner/grower Sue Tipton is always quick to…
PRIE Vineyards co-owner/winemaker John Gash in his Cabernet Sauvignon estate planting The Lodi Viticultural Area’s latest artisanal wine producer, PRIE Vineyards, quietly opened its tasting room at 15628 N. Alpine Rd. (practically across the street from Klinker Brick Winery’s tasting room), this past April. Owners John and Lisa Gash may be newbies – “home” winemakers…
We have this recurring dream. It’s almost mid-day. We wake up late, after some wine-soaked conversation deep into the night before, and still haven’t yet eaten. So after stopping at a tiny charcuterie for some cooked sausages, marinated olives, a round of local bread – tasting as sweet and silky as pancakes in the inside,…
Wine lovers at 2015 Lodi ZinFest Recently, folks at local wineries have been reporting a growing influx of wine lovers of a different stripe. They’ve been coming in from major cities – San Francisco, L.A., Dallas, Chicago, New York, Vancouver – after reading about it in national magazines or the blogosphere, or catching a taste…
Lodi grower Phil Abba and McCay Cellars winemaker/owner Mike McCay in Abba Vineyard Some things just creep up on you – like the unsuspected appeal of red wines made from the black skinned Grenache grape. Especially those grown in Lodi. Earlier in the month we endeavored to take a measure of varietal bottlings of Lodi…
Lodi hat trick Over the past year the Lodi Viticultural Area has achieved something of a hat trick; garnering no less than three prestigious California wine industry awards for • 2014 Vineyard of the Year – Bestowed by the California State Fair, an award going to the little Bechthold Vineyard, located on the west side…
Very quietly, over the recent ZinFest weekend, Stama Winery unveiled a spanking new, if low key, tasting room – open 7 days a week, from 11 AM – centrally located at the site of their new winery facility on Davis Road, just south of Turner Road on Lodi‘s west side. For Konstantino “Gus” Kapiniaris –…
Blame it all on their roots, they showed up in boots, and all kinds of hats and wine-country-chic apparel, including threads studded with corks from their favorite bottlings of Lodi wine! They also came from places as far as Canada (whole contingents from both Vancouver and Toronto), Iowa or Florida, and as near as Sacramento,…
The Lodi AVA grown wines of Onesta Wines winemaker/owner Jillian Johnson DeLeon are distinguished by two closely related things: • Abiding respect for her grape sources – that is, she crafts wines so that you can taste the fruit and distinctive qualities of the vineyard, rather than a personal style or attempt to achieve a…
2015 ZinFest Festival Are you ready for Lodi’s 2015 ZinFest Festival, happening this coming Saturday, May 16? Starting at 12 Noon in the gorgeous Lodi Lake Park, ZinFest wine lovers will be able to not only taste over 200 Lodi grown wines made by the region’s best producers, they will be able to purchase most…
ZinFest 2015: Lodi’s Premiere Wine Tasting Event Each year the Lodi ZinFest produces about a 1,000 bottles of a Commemorative Lodi grown Zinfandel under a colorful Belle Époque inspired art label by our official ZinFest artist, Vince McIndoe, always featuring the same mysterious “red headed girl.” This year’s special bottling was produced by Michael McCay,…
Everybody loves a luscious Zinfandel, Lodi‘s signature wine, but Lodi ZinFest has always been about a lot more than Zinfandel. It’s been about all the fascinating wines – from light and refreshing white and pink wines, to a joyful variety of savory reds – grown in this, the most widely planted American Viticultural Area in…
What happens when a critically acclaimed Sonoma County based Zinfandel producer gets her hands on some Lodi grown fruit? You get a wine like the newly minted 2012 Carol Shelton Piazza Vineyard Pizazz Zin Lodi Zinfandel ($19): a plump, verging on opulent, almost lascivious style of the varietal; teeming with cherry-bombish fruit coated in nostril…